Tourism board gets peek at marketing research

Published: Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 5:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 8:41 p.m.

BUNNELL — With a new brand identity in place and budgetary approval in hand, members of the Flagler County Tourist Development Council this week got a brief update on a market research study.

Evelyn Fine from Mid Florida Marketing and Research told the council how the firm conducted its study using a statistical sample of visitors to the county.

"We are extremely and exceptionally confident in the sample," Fine said, explaining that the company received information directly from area hotels.

"We rely on hotels to give us information," she said.

Fine said the firm chooses visitor information supplied by hotels at random to conduct telephone surveys. She said while this time of year in a political season some citizens are inundated with calls from pollsters, "people love to talk about their vacations."

Fine said the firm is in the process of compiling the information gleaned from the telephone surveys and expects to have a report completed by the end of the year.

Fine added the county has a very diverse hospitality industry and the study has turned up some interesting facts.

"We think that sports is showing up more and more," she said.

The briefing was welcome news to TDC Chairwoman Milissa Holland.

"Research is a integral part as we move forward," said Holland, who is also a Flagler County commissioner. "The research is such an important part of the process."

Fine agreed, saying the county will benefit from the new study.

"We think you need to do it more often than you have in the past," she said.

Tourist council members also heard from Chris Kelley, owner of Ripple Effect Ecotours and dockmaster at the Marineland Marina on the marina's first anniversary. The marina received $150,000 in funding from the TDC to cover part of the cost to build the facility.

Kelley showed a 15-minute video featuring Holland, Marineland Mayor Jim Netherton, Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts and others talking about the project and the impact the marina is having on the county's tourism efforts.

Holland said the success of the marina is a positive for the county and for the tourism council.

Georgia Turner, vice president of tourism development at the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce & Affiliates, said the video presentation can become an important part of the tourism effort.

"We're going to be able to utilize a lot of that," she said. "We're trying to put more video on the (county tourism) website."

Wednesday's meeting was also the first for Palm Coast City Councilman Bill McGuire, who replaced Frank Meeker on the TDC. Meeker has resigned his City Council post effective in November to run for a seat on the Flagler County Commission.

"I hope that I can contribute something positive to this organization," McGuire said.

<p>BUNNELL &mdash; With a new brand identity in place and budgetary approval in hand, members of the Flagler County Tourist Development Council this week got a brief update on a market research study. </p><p>Evelyn Fine from Mid Florida Marketing and Research told the council how the firm conducted its study using a statistical sample of visitors to the county. </p><p>"We are extremely and exceptionally confident in the sample," Fine said, explaining that the company received information directly from area hotels. </p><p>"We rely on hotels to give us information," she said. </p><p>Fine said the firm chooses visitor information supplied by hotels at random to conduct telephone surveys. She said while this time of year in a political season some citizens are inundated with calls from pollsters, "people love to talk about their vacations." </p><p>Fine said the firm is in the process of compiling the information gleaned from the telephone surveys and expects to have a report completed by the end of the year. </p><p>Fine added the county has a very diverse hospitality industry and the study has turned up some interesting facts. </p><p>"We think that sports is showing up more and more," she said. </p><p>The briefing was welcome news to TDC Chairwoman Milissa Holland. </p><p>"Research is a integral part as we move forward," said Holland, who is also a Flagler County commissioner. "The research is such an important part of the process." </p><p>Fine agreed, saying the county will benefit from the new study. </p><p>"We think you need to do it more often than you have in the past," she said. </p><p>Tourist council members also heard from Chris Kelley, owner of Ripple Effect Ecotours and dockmaster at the Marineland Marina on the marina's first anniversary. The marina received $150,000 in funding from the TDC to cover part of the cost to build the facility. </p><p>Kelley showed a 15-minute video featuring Holland, Marineland Mayor Jim Netherton, Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts and others talking about the project and the impact the marina is having on the county's tourism efforts. </p><p>Holland said the success of the marina is a positive for the county and for the tourism council. </p><p>"It has provided some unbelievably positive outcomes that far exceeded our expectations," she said. </p><p>Georgia Turner, vice president of tourism development at the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce & Affiliates, said the video presentation can become an important part of the tourism effort. </p><p>"We're going to be able to utilize a lot of that," she said. "We're trying to put more video on the (county tourism) website." </p><p>Wednesday's meeting was also the first for Palm Coast City Councilman Bill McGuire, who replaced Frank Meeker on the TDC. Meeker has resigned his City Council post effective in November to run for a seat on the Flagler County Commission. </p><p>"I hope that I can contribute something positive to this organization," McGuire said.</p>